Forecast: Tomorrow
Label: Legacy
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Forecast: Tomorrow
Remember fusion, or (its more correct name) jazz-rock? Though typically lambasted by dullard critics as masturbatory music for improvisational blowhards, fusion ‘ when judged against today’s shrunken jazz market ‘ appears a golden moment of unbridled musical radicalism. Bassist Jaco Pastorius called it ‘punk jazz,â?� and this four-disc set showcasing the diversity of one of the genre’s premier acts includes two unreleased tracks and a DVD performance culled from a never-before-seen 1978 German concert. Though some may remember only their instrumental hit, ‘Birdland,â?� Weather Report painted on an extremely broad canvas. They were among the first to experiment with synthesizers in jazz, incorporate world music colors and improvise with all the bombast of a heavy metal band. Led by Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and, later, Jaco Pastorius in a not-so-secondary role, Weather Report grew through many phases during the course of 15 studio albums, and this set amply demonstrates that career’s creative highs and soporific lows.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2006.